Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2010-11: Brent Pedersen played for the Waterloo Wolves midget minor AAA team in Ontario. He scored 34 goals with 18 assists in 49 games. He scored 9 goals with 8 assists and 2 penalty minutes in 13 playoff games. Pedersen was selected by Kitchener in the first round (14th overall) of the 2011 OHL Priority Draft.

2011-12: Pedersen played 65 games for Kitchener in his first OHL season and skated for Canada Ontario in the 2012 U17 World Hockey Challenge. He scored 9 goals with 5 assists and was minus-10 with 12 penalty minutes for the Rangers. Kitchener finished second to OHL champion London in the Midwest Division and reached the conference finals. Pedersen played in all 16 playoff games, finishing plus-1 with 1 assist. Playing for bronze medal-winning Canada Ontario he scored 2 goals with 2 assists in six games at the WHC.

2012-13: Pedersen, playing on a line with fellow 1995-born prospects Justin Bailey and Josh Sterk, provided secondary scoring and two-way play in his second season for Kitchener. He scored 14 goals with 16 assists in 67 games and was plus-11 with 52 penalty minutes. Kitchener finished third in the Midwest Division and lost to Memorial Cup-bound London in the second round of the playoffs. Pedersen played in eight playoff games, missing the final two games after suffering an injury in Game 3 against London. He was minus-3 with no points and 2 penalty minutes in the playoffs. Pedersen was ranked 125th amongst North American skaters in Central Scouting’s final rankings and was selected by Carolina in the fifth round (126th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft.

2013-14: Pedersen attended Carolina’s training camp before returning to Kitchener and skated in 67 of 68 games for the Rangers in his third OHL season. He scored 18 goals with 13 assists and was minus-30 with 48 penalty minutes. Kitchener missed the playoffs; finishing last in the Midwest Division.

Talent Analysis

Pedersen has the size and grit to be a lower line forward but is not a naturally gifted offensive player. Now in his fourth season of junior hockey his offensive production has increased so there is some potential in the area. But he is not expected to be a big scorer at the pro level and that is not the key part of his game.

Future

Pedersen attended training camp with the Hurricanes before being returned to Kitchener for his fourth OHL season in 2014-15. Yet to sign an entry-level contract with Carolina, he must be signed by June 2015 or he would re-enter the 2015 NHL Draft. Pedersen was part of a forgettable season for Kitchener in 2013-14 but like the Rangers team as a whole things have gone much better to start the current year. Pedersen was scoring at a point-per-game pace after 20 games while Kitchener was battling London and Owen Sound for second place behind Erie in the OHL's toughest division. Offensive numbers alone are never enough to gauge a player's progress but Pedersen's two-way play would appear to fit in well with Carolina's plans going forward. If he is signed to a contract he'd likely spend some time at the minor level. Long-term he projects as a middle line forward capable of providing supplementary goal scoring while playing a responsible game in all three zones.